Encountering Arabic through falafels and Abu Hassan

Here we are in Amman, Jordan, where the days are furnace-like hot and the nights surprisingly cool. It is the food, which is a highlight for us so far, as it is incredibly tasty; that is, compared with the common staple we are used to in Malawi, which does little to challenge the taste buds unless one adds plenty of hot chilli sauce. Why is it that after only a few lines I am already talking about food?

We have been here for just over a week and my list of Arabic words that I have mastered is growing rapidly. In our initial foray into the Arabic language, which is the focus of our stay here in Jordan, I have discovered that I am well on the way to fluency in one particular area, food. I have no problem ordering falafel, shwarma, kebab, hummus, tahini, babaghanoush and tabuli. It is just basic greetings and working out how to tell the falafel cook to hold off on the gherkins, which are still proving to be a challenge. However, pointing and shaking my head have so far been effective in this department.

Ah yes the art of communication, I hear you say.

Last Sunday, which was a working day here in Jordan, was my warm-up exercise for learning Arabic. Fortunately for us we met Abu Hassan, a taxi driver, who had the uncanny ability to look at me for the entire journey, write Arabic phrases in my little note book, fire at me Arabic terms, like a machine gun on full throttle, thinking that I would pick them up if he repeated them often enough. All the while, he was dodging traffic, which is not easy at the best of time in Amman. Then to top it all off he got us home in record time at the cheapest price. ($1.50). If they made statues in Jordan to commemorate their heroes, one should be made to honour the multi-talented Abu Haasan. On reaching our house, Abu Hassan gave me his telephone number and promised to show us around Amman and teach me language at the same time. I have not quiet found the courage to call him yet as I am not sure whether we would all survive the ordeal!

The day after meeting Abu Hazzan:
Waking up the following day, I felt the effects of Abu Hassan’s barrage of words. DOUBT. Will I learn anything here? Yep, does that sound familiar? It’s every language learner’s nightmare. (If you are learning another language and you never feel this effect, then maybe you need to induce some more scary thoughts or something to get yourself moving.) As a result of our ride with Abu Hassan I have discovered once again, not only am I culturally challenged wherever I go, but linguistically challenged as well. I am not naturally gifted as a linguist. I realised today that language acquisition, for me, is primarily about discipline; self discipline. Basically I am good at getting up each day and giving it a go. So that is what I am going to do for the next two months and hopefully I will expand my abilities beyond my meagre culinary experiences. Salaam.